DOI: 10.35279/jowm202110.06 SCIENCE, PRACTICE AND EDUCATION Case series exploring the healing effects of goat product consumption Kelsey M Russell-Murray RD, MSc, HBSc, Registered Dietitian, St Thomas Elgin General Hospital Pat L Jones RD, BASc, Registered Dietitian, McGarrell Place Correspondence: pjones@start.ca · Conflicts of Interest: Pat Jones was on the board that provided ethics approval for the research. Hewitt Dairy provided goat milk free of charge to some of the LTC homes. Keywords: Goat milk, long-term care, NPUAP, pressure injuries, wound healing, wound staging ABSTRACT Background Chronic wounds can have a substantial impact on quality of life, and their treatment and care can be costly. After witnessing the healing of a 4-year wound with the addition of goat’s milk consumption, it was decided to investigate further. participants. Seventeen of the wounds closed during the six-month monitoring period. Conclusions The results of the study indicate that consuming goat products may potentially promote pressure injury healing. Further study is needed. Aim To investigate whether the daily oral consumption of goat products is beneficial for promoting pressure injury healing among residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities. Methods The subjects were permanent residents of an LTC facility with significant, long-lasting wounds, defined as any pressure injury at Stage 2 or more and existing for four or more months. Subjects were monitored for a six-month period. A total of 250 ml of goat dairy products were provided daily to each subject. Con- sumption was recorded daily. Wounds were moni- tored biweekly for size, stage, colour and change in condition. Participants were excluded if unable to complete the study or if less than 50% of the goat products were consumed over any month. Results A total of 25 participants enrolled in the study; 17 completed the study, and 8 were excluded. A total of 24 pressure injuries were monitored from the 17 Implications for clinical practice The results indicate that goat product consumption is feasible in an elderly population living in LTC, and it may have a positive effect on pressure injury healing. The treatment is minimally invasive and cost-effective. INTRODUCTION Chronic wounds in long-term care (LTC) settings can have a substantial impact on a person’s quality of life and well-being. 1 Occurring in 10% of the LTC popu- lation and frequently under-reported, the economic cost of treating a single pressure injury ranged from CAD $26,800 to $231,000 in 2017 and can increase nursing hours up to 50% for wound treatment. 2,3 Due to the complex association among wounds, in- fections and nutritional deficiency, diet has become part of a multidisciplinary approach to wound care, especially since elderly patients are at higher risk for nutritional deficits. 4 While oral nutritional supple- ments have been previously studied in wound heal- ing5, laypeople speculate that food products such as JOURNAL OF WOUND MANAGEMENT OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN WOUND MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 39
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